Manuel REUTER

A German driver

The only snag in a decade where German manufacturers, especially Porsche, have been head and shoulders above others was Jaguar's victory in front of fifty thousand ecstatic British fans in 1988. The Swiss-German team Sauber-Mercedes is the favourite to provide the feline with the answer in 1989.

Mercedes’s relationship with the Le Mans 24 Hours is tumultuous. It had participated before the war in the 1930 24 Hours race with national champion Rudolf Caracciola. It returned 22 years later and achieved a masterful double. Pierre Levegh's Mercedes was involved in the fatal accident of 1955, three years later. The manufacturer is retiring overnight and will no longer return to the 24 Hours race.

1989 was therefore the year of a real comeback. That year, Sauber-Mercedes formed part of the heritage of the "silver arrows" and achieved a new double with their beautiful metallic dress.

After a year of learning ended in retirement in 1988, Manuel Reuter returned to the 24 Hours the following year with Sauber Mercedes and won against Jaguar, Nissan and Porsche. It is in fact with the horse model that he participated in the Le Mans race from 1990 to 1993. He returned to Le Mans in 1996 following a break and was hired by the Joest team to drive the TWR-Porsche prototype along with Davy Jones and Alexander Wurz. This second victory tied in with his final appearance in the event.

Stanley Dickens, Jochen Mass and Manuel Reuter were among the only three-way winning crew for which each driver holds an individual plaque. You can explore these three plaques along Avenue Leclerc.

Mercedes made its final appearance at Le Mans in 1999. It was yet again a bitter experience. Cars would take off several times during the race whenever building up speed. The manufacturer chose to withdraw to guarantee the safety of its drivers.

But let's keep the wheels on the ground with a lap of the circuit with an on-board camera inside the Mercedes driven by Christophe Bouchut. Ready, Set? Go!